Meta-Literacy in the Online Music Classroom: Opportunities for Instructor and Librarian Collaboration

Background

The online music classroom presents several unique challenges to learners and instructors. The literature demonstrates that various Course Management System (CMS), Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), or Learning Management System (LMS) applications have been developed to create online environments analogous to, or even better than, those experienced in-person (Koszalka & Ganesan, 2004; Lonn & Teasley, 2009). Nonetheless, many essays have outlined the variety of ways in which online learning is inherently different from the learning experienced in traditional, in-person classrooms (Harasim, 1996; Keengwe, & Kidd, 2010; Meyer 2003; Rovai, 2002; Swan, 2001). Harasim noted that “anytime, anyplace communication makes group interaction and collaboration in online media distinctive” (1996, p. 204). Such differences highlight the need for a more inclusive understanding of the various literacies essential to online teaching and learning.